OUR STORY

In the summer of 2011, a group of environmental activists were hitting the streets advocating for a system of Earth resource management that would be inclusive to all, that would do justice to the planet, and would take into consideration generations 100 years into the future.

It was tough going. After a few years of this - hosting screenings, giving talks - some of these activists decided the best way to promote the kind of radical change they sought would be to more formally organize, gather a board of directors of inspired thinkers and actioneers, and start the kind of projects that would exemplify their shared values

The Institute for a Resource-Based Economy was born in December 2011 in a boardroom on the 3rd floor of the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto. Around the table were Ryan Dyment - former accountant turned social entrepreneur, Lawrence Alvarez - former traveller turned community acvitist, Dashan Kamal - calm meditator and passionate humanist, and YP Leung - gardener and whole food advocate. The ink was not dry on their incorporation papers before they began facilitating workshops on debt-based currency and disruptive technologies. The new board brought Bernard Lietaer and Jacqui Dunne to Toronto to discuss their new book Rethinking Money: How New Currencies Turn Scarcity into Prosperity. They brought Charles Eisenstein to Toronto next to talk about his new book Sacred Economics: Money, Gift & Society in the Age of Transition. In the summer of 2011After saying farewell to Dashan and YP who went on to explore farming in a community North of Bancroft, ON, the board simultaneously expanded over the next year to include Victoria Buchy - fundraising and organizational expert, Sheetal Lodhia - governance guru and radio-documentarian, Allan Pitre - general contractor and a bringer-of-logic, and Emily Charles - an online media expert with her pulse on the trends.

Early on the board began exploring projects that would promote the sharing economy and provide a transition solution to our planetary crises. They found out about tool libraries.The first formalized tool library started in 1979 in Berkley, California (though rumours state there was on in Ohio before that), but since then over 40 tool libraries have launched across North America. While the idea is not original, there has never been a tool library in Toronto, and this was a huge opportunity for local change.

The board found their first location in Parkdale to house all the tools they wanted to share. The Parkdale Activity and Recreation Centre (PARC), located at 1499 Queen Street West, became a partner and offered space in their basement. The high energy team mobilized dozens of volunteers over a 3 month period and transformed the basement into a wonderful community hub. The media picked up on the story and tool donations started pouring in, and by the time they opened the doors to Toronto's first Tool Library in March 2013 there were hundreds of tools available.

The success of the first Tool Library led them to quickly expand. They found the perfect home for their second location, on the Danforth (1803 Danforth East), with a 1900 sq. foot basement space. More than a Tool Library, this space was also to become the first makerspace on the East-end of Toronto, fit with a wood shop, an open-source laser cutter, and 3D printers. It was to be a learning centre where workshops on everything from hand-knitting to bee-hive building would animate the space. Jumping at this opportunity, the team launched a crowd-funding campaign with the Centre for Social Innovation's Catalyst platform to raise the funds for rent and renovations. The support was beyond expectations, reaching above the goal of $16,000 and with the highest number of supporters on the crowd-funding platform. They opened the doors to celebrations in October 2013.

With youth programs, workshops, 2 locations and over 1,000 members, the team expanded to include a volunteer coordinator and manager, a youth program coordinator, and a social media expert. This blossoming non-profit received grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Ontario Catapult Microloan program, as well as being awarded the Live Green Toronto Award as the “Greenest Group” in 2014. Corporate donations from Canadian Tire, Home Depot Canada Foundation, MEC and more have supported our work with tool donations. Two new members were added to enrich the team, Graham Green - marketing and business aficionado, and Greg Smith - law librarian and DIY guru.

In April 2015, IRBE opened the third location of the tool library. This one is inside a branch of the Toronto Public Library (Downsview Branch), an event that signifies a huge step in the direction of shared resource hubs, and the changing landscape of sharing in Toronto. IRBE's board members are its executive director have given international talks, spoken on numerous panels, and have inspired and helped grow the tool library movement in Canada in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal and Ottawa, and internationally as far away as Belgium, Ireland and New Zealand, and in Tacoma and Boise in the United States.

To date the three locations of the Toronto Tool Library have over 4,000 tools available to over 1,400 members. This project is directly in line with IRBE's mission and vision and is a launch pad for other sharing projects the board wishes to pursue.

The board meets bi-monthly, attends 2 annual retreats, and stays in constant close contact. They are a group of friends. They recognize that their success is a product of a loving environment, so their interactions always foster closeness and community.